NHL Player News

Blackwood's conditioning loan at AHL Colorado ended Friday.

It appears the Avalanche opted to have Blackwood practice in the minors, but they'll keep him out of game action for now. A timeline for his return to action has yet to be revealed.

Vasilevskiy will protect the road goal in Friday's game versus the Red Wings, Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley reports.

Vasilevskiy will make his fourth start of the season while still in search of his first win. He's gone 0-2-1 with 12 goals allowed over his first three games. The Red Wings have 14 goals over four games this season, winning three of them.

Lankinen will protect the road goal versus the Blackhawks on Friday, Dan Murphy of Sportsnet reports.

Lankinen will handle the second half of a back-to-back after Thatcher Demko earned the win over the Stars on Thursday. In his season debut, Lankinen allowed four goals on 35 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Blues. The 30-year-old will likely continue to handle a backup role overall, especially since Demko has started the season well.

Askarov will patrol the visiting crease in Utah on Friday, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.

Askarov had a tough go of it in his season debut Saturday against Anaheim, allowing seven goals on 43 shots in an overtime loss. Askarov is highly regarded -- he was selected 11th overall by Nashville in 2020 -- and will get a chance to redeem himself against the Mammoth, who are averaging only 2.00 goals per game, 30th in the NHL.

Vejmelka was the first goalie off during Friday's morning skate, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports, indicating that he'll draw the home start against the Sharks.

Vejmelka has had a solid start to the season, going 2-1-0 with a 1.67 GAA and a .929 save percentage while starting in three of Utah's first four games of the season. He'll attempt to pick up a third consecutive victory in Friday's matchup against the Sharks, who have yet to enter the win column this year.

Gustavsson will be between the visiting pipes in Washington on Friday, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic.

Gustavsson has given up nine goals on 54 shots in his last two games after he shut out St. Louis on Opening Night. He has an .888 save percentage in three games this season. The Capitals are averaging only 2.25 goals this season, 29th in the NHL.

Ersson allowed four goals on just 14 shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to Winnipeg, with the Jets' final goal getting scored into an empty net.

Both defenses were stingy, as the Flyers wound up outshooting the visitors 17-15 on the night, but Ersson was victimized by some bad zone clearances and bad bounces -- Morgan Barron's game-winner late in the second period caromed into the net after hitting Noah Cates in the back. Ersson has split the workload with Dan Vladar in the Philly crease so far, going 0-1-1 in two starts while giving up eight goals on 53 shots -- a far cry from Vladar's four goals allowed on 60 shots.

Thompson will serve as the starting goaltender for Friday's home game against the Wild, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.

Thompson has had a solid start to the year, and he'll be in the net Friday for the fourth time in the Capitals' first five games. Over his first three appearances in 2025-26, he's gone 2-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .921 save percentage.

Hellebuyck stopped 15 shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Flyers.

The Jets never trailed in the game, giving Hellebuyck plenty of leeway as he got beaten by Owen Tippett in the second period and Matvei Michkov in the third. Incredibly, it was Hellebuyck's first career win in Philadelphia in his fifth start at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Through three outings to begin the current campaign, the star netminder is 2-1-0 with a 3.02 GAA and an .895 save percentage -- those are ratios that will almost certainly improve once the reigning Vezina and Hart Trophy winner gets rolling.

Allen made 21 saves in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Panthers.

Evan Rodrigues banged home a rebound early in the first period, but Allen stood tall the rest of the way to record his first win of the season. The 35-year-old netminder will see a hefty workload over the next couple of weeks with Jacob Markstrom (lower body) already on the shelf, and Allen should be up to the task after posting a 2.66 GAA and a .906 save percentage over 31 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.